Recall of emotional and neutral words and paragraphs in traumatic brain injury

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in verbal recall deficits and impaired processing of emotion encoded in facial appearance, prosody and the linguistic content of messages. Emotion facilitates memory (emotional memory advantage) for non-brain injured (NBI) individuals but the impact of emotion on verbal recall for linguistically encoded stimuli in TBI has not been explored.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of stimulus emotional content on verbal recall of words and paragraphs in TBI compared to NBI individuals.

Methods and procedures: Six 10-item lists, each with five emotional and five neutral words, and six paragraphs (three emotional, three neutral) were counterbalanced and presented in random order to 20 individuals with TBI and 44 NBI. The number of words from lists and the number of content units from paragraphs were compared for the two groups.

Outcomes and results: The NBI participants recalled more words from the lists and content units from the paragraphs than the individuals with TBI. Both groups recalled significantly more emotional than neutral words. NBI but not TBI participants had significantly greater recall for information in paragraphs with emotional content.

Conclusions: Participants with TBI showed impaired recall of words and paragraph content. Emotion facilitated word and paragraph content recall for neurotypical individuals but emotional memory advantage was limited to words for the TBI participants.     

“Driven and Tense,Stressed Out and Anxious”: Clinicians’ Perceptions of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Expressions in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disability

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) seem to be at increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but knowledge is sparse regarding its identification in this population. Previous research indicates that certain symptoms of PTSD may be more easily recognized, and that identifying reexperiencing and avoidance is particularly challenging.     

Racial matching and adolescent self-disclosure of substance use and mental health symptoms

Obtaining accurate assessment data from adolescents in treatment aids clinical decision making and facilitates more accurate outcome evaluations. However, findings could be biased due to underreported substance use and mental health symptoms. This article compares self-reports of youth in non-White matched client–assessor dyads and those in nonmatched dyads. There were no differences on self-reported substance use, but matched youth reported significantly fewer attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms versus the comparison group. One possible reason for these findings is the effect of in-group stereotype threat. Future studies should examine the potential effect that in-group stereotyping and perceived racism have on the therapeutic relationship.     

Early intervention in myelofibrosis and impact on outcomes: A pooled analysis of the COMFORT-I and COMFORT-II studies

Background

In a pooled analysis of the phase 3 Controlled Myelofibrosis Study With Oral JAK Inhibitor Treatment I (COMFORT-I) and COMFORT-II clinical trials, adult patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis who received oral ruxolitinib at randomization or after crossover from placebo or best available therapy (BAT) had improved overall survival (OS).

Methods

This post hoc analysis of pooled COMFORT data examined relevant disease outcomes based on the disease duration (≤12 or >12 months from diagnosis) before ruxolitinib initiation.

Results

The analysis included 525 patients (ruxolitinib: ≤12 months, n = 84; >12 months, n = 216; placebo/BAT: ≤12 months, n = 66; >12 months, n = 159); the median age was 65.0–70.0 years. Fewer thrombocytopenia and anemia events were observed among patients who initiated ruxolitinib treatment earlier. At Weeks 24 and 48, the spleen volume response (SVR) was higher for patients who initiated ruxolitinib earlier (47.6% vs. 32.9% at Week 24, p = .0610; 44.0% vs. 26.9% at Week 48, p = .0149). In a multivariable analysis of factors associated with spleen volume reduction, a logistic regression model that controlled for confounding factors found that a significantly greater binary reduction was observed among patients with shorter versus longer disease duration (p = .022). At Week 240, OS was significantly improved among patients who initiated ruxolitinib earlier (63% [95% CI, 51%‒73%] vs. 57% [95% CI, 49%‒64%]; hazard ratio, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.01‒2.31; p = .0430). Regardless of disease duration, a longer OS was observed for patients who received ruxolitinib versus those who received placebo/BAT.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that earlier ruxolitinib initiation for adult patients with intermediate-2 and high-risk myelofibrosis may improve clinical outcomes, including fewer cytopenia events, durable SVR, and prolonged OS.

Plain Language Summary

• Patients with myelofibrosis, a bone marrow cancer, often do not live as long as the general population. These patients may also have an enlarged spleen and difficult symptoms such as fatigue.
• Two large clinical trials showed that patients treated with the drug ruxolitinib lived longer and had improved symptoms compared to those treated with placebo or other standard treatments.
• Here it was examined whether starting treatment with ruxolitinib earlier (i.e., within a year of diagnosis) provided benefits versus delaying treatment.
• Patients who received ruxolitinib within a year of diagnosis lived longer and experienced fewer disease symptoms than those whose treatment was delayed.

     

Evaluation of vilazodone for the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders

Introduction: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) significantly contribute to the global burden of disease. Vilazodone, a combined serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5-HT1A partial agonist, is an approved therapy for the treatment of MDD and which has been further investigated for GAD.

Areas covered: This article covers the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vilazodone and provides an evaluation of the clinical usefulness of vilazodone for the treatment of MDD and anxiety disorders. A literature search was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library.

Expert opinion: Studies have shown that vilazodone is significantly superior to placebo. However, vilazodone cannot as yet be recommended as a first-line treatment option for MDD as it is unclear whether the drug’s dual mechanism of action provides greater efficacy than prevailing treatment options. Moreover, more phase IV studies are needed to establish its efficacy and long-term safety in larger and more diverse populations. Although vilazodone may have an additional advantage for the treatment of anxiety symptoms in MDD, here also additional studies are required to confirm its efficacy over and above SSRI alternatives and other antidepressant treatments. Therefore, presently, vilazodone should be considered as a second- or third-line treatment option for MDD and GAD.     

Research Priorities in Pelvic Venous Disorders in Women: Recommendations from a Multidisciplinary Research Consensus Panel

Pelvic venous disorders (PeVDs) in women can present with chronic pelvic pain, lower-extremity and vulvar varicosities, lower-extremity swelling and pain, and left-flank pain and hematuria. Multiple evidence gaps exist related to PeVDs with the consequence that nonvascular specialists rarely consider the diagnosis. Recognizing this, the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation funded a Research Consensus Panel to prioritize a research agenda to address these gaps. This paper presents the proceedings and recommendations from that Panel.